EDWARDSBURG — The Edwardsburg boys and girls basketball teams each picked up a Lakeland Conference win Friday over Cassopolis.

A strong second quarter ignited the boys to a 75-33 win, while the girls needed a fourth quarter rally in a 44-40 win.

In the boys game, Edwardsburg outscored Cassopolis, 25-9, in the second quarter and went into halftime with a 39-18 lead. The Eddies shot a blistering 82-percent (9-of-11) from the field in the second quarter, made all four of their free throws and had only one turnover. Josh Kozinski scored 10 of his 15 points and connected on two 3-pointers in the second quarter.

“We passed the ball, found the open man and hit some shots,” said Edwardsburg coach Dan Gunn, whose team improved to 7-5 overall and 4-2 in the Lakeland Conference. “That makes everybody look better. (Cassopolis) was pressuring us and our idea was to try to make that work against them and I thought we got several good layups off their press.”

Cassopolis turned the ball over six times in the second quarter with many of those miscues turning into easy baskets for Edwardsburg.

There was no let up from the Eddies to start the second half as Edwardsburg made its first four shots of the third quarter and it extended its lead to 47-18 with 6:46 left in the third quarter. At that point in the game, the Eddies were shooting 70-percent (19-of-27) from the field.

Ten different players scored for the Eddies with 6-foot-8 Kyle Slack leading the way with a career-high 17 points. Slack showed some good range by connecting on several perimeter shots, including one 3-pointer. Max Habicht added 12 points for the Eddies.

Gunn likes seeing his team’s offensive balance.

“I think that really makes your team a team,” Gunn said. “This is a game which I want these guys to love as much as I do. I think that’s what really catches you, when you put your two cents in and make it work for your team. That makes you feel a lot better about what you’re doing.”

Edwardsburg also dominated the boards, finishing with a 46-21 rebounding advantage. Kozinski led the way with 13 rebounds. Slack added eight and Abenicio Cordoba-Wilson added seven.

Dwayne Morgan scored nine points to lead the Rangers, who fell to 4-7 overall and 1-4 in the Lakeland Conference. Cassopolis shot only 26-percent (14-of-53) and 20-percent (2-of-10) from the free-throw line.

“Our shooting disappointed me the most,” said Cassopolis coach James Moore. “Coming into the season, I thought we had some pretty good shooters.

“But, let’s be realistic. Edwardsburg is long (defensively) and a legitimate Class B team. They got a legitimate Division I caliber player in Kozinski and he creates shots for everybody else.”

The outcome of the girls game was decided in the fourth quarter as the Eddies outscored the Rangers, 12-2, in the fourth quarter to erase a 38-32 deficit. Olivia Hack’s basket gave Edwardsburg the lead for good at 41-40 with 2:30 left in the game. It was the Eddies’ first lead since 11-10 with 2:36 left in the first quarter.

“My team is a bunch of fighters,” said Edwardsburg coach Nicole Cartwright, whose team improved to 7-5 overall and 5-1 in the league. “They never gave up. We really picked up our defense and we capitalized on the turnovers that we created. We talked about (defense) at halftime and it really resonated with the team.”

Cassopolis missed eight of its nine shots in the fourth quarter and missed both of its free throws.

“Edwardsburg’s experience was the difference,” said Cassopolis coach Larry Ash, whose team fell to 5-7 overall and 4-3 in the league. “They never got rattled. They kept their composure and hit the shots that they needed to make. In contrast, we fell apart on just little minor things.”

Two free throws from Sarah D’Amico gave the Eddies a 44-40 lead with :14 remaining. Before D’Amico made those two foul shots, Edwardsburg was only 4-of-11 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.

“We did shoot 20 free throws (at practice Thursday). I don’t know what happened tonight,” Cartwright said. “Sarah hit some big ones at the end though.”

D’Amico led Edwardsburg with 18 points, including five 3-pointers, four in the third quarter. Brooke Portwood added nine points and Mariah Murphy had eight.

Tammy Lee scored 13 points, including three 3-pointers in the third quarter, and Courtney Moore added 12 points and nine rebounds for Cassopolis. Lee fouled out with 2:30 left in the game.

“That was really big,” Ash said. “I knew how many fouls she had, but I couldn’t take her out because she’s our best ball-handler. She made some really big baskets for us.”

Lee’s 3-pointer gave Cassopolis its biggest lead of the game at 32-22 with 4:15 left in the third quarter.